Centre To Offload Up To 5 Per Cent Stake In IRCTC Through OFS; Shares Drop Over 5 Per Cent

IRCTC’s promoter, the government, is expected to fetch Rs 2,720 crore for the exchequer after offloading 5 per cent of stake

The floor price for the OFS is set at Rs 680 apiece.

Source : Getty

The central government will offload up to 5 per cent stake in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) through an offer for sale (OFS). The floor price for the OFS is set at Rs 680 apiece, which is 7.4 per cent lower than IRCTC's closing price of Rs 734.70 on the BSE on Wednesday. At 1 pm on Thursday, shares of IRCTC were trading at Rs 694, down 5.54 per cent on the BSE. Shares of IRCTC declined more than 5 per cent as the government's stake sale via OFS kicked off.

IRCTC’s promoter, the government, is expected to fetch Rs 2,720 crore for the exchequer after offloading 5 per cent of stake. The Centre via OFS route intends to sell a 2.5 per cent stake, with the option to sell an extra 2.5 per cent, bringing the total issue size to 4 crore shares or 5 per cent stake.

In a regulatory filing, IRCTC said the government proposes to sell up to 2,00,00,000 equity shares of IRCTC, which is 2.5 per cent of the total issued and paid up equity share capital, with an option to additionally sell 2,00,00,000 shares, representing 2.5 per cent of the total issued and paid up equity share capital.

Non-Retail investors can subscribe on December 15, while retail investors who choose to carry forward their unallotted bids can subscribe on December 16. The non-retail investors who have placed their bids on T day can carry forward their unallotted bids to T+1 day.

"..... December 15, 2022, ("T day") (for non-Retail Investors only) and on December 16, 2022 ("T+1 day") (for Retail Investors and for non-Retail Investors who choose to carry forward their unallotted bids)," IRCTC's statement said.

The brokers for the OFS on behalf of the Seller are Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and JM Financial.

IRCTC had a stellar debut on October 14, 2019 as it listed at Rs 644 on the BSE, a 101.25 percent premium over its issue price of Rs 320 per share. On the National Stock Exchange, the stock listed at Rs 626, up 95.6 percent over the issue price.